Adaptive monitoring in the real world: proof of concept

Abstract

We recently proposed the adaptive monitoring approach for improving ecological monitoring, but to date no explicit examples exist. In this review, we demonstrate adaptive monitoring using two new case studies where pre-existing monitoring programs were redesigned to address new policy and scientific questions without breaching the integrity of past and ongoing time-series data. Lessons underpinning successful adaptive monitoring are: better recognition of the potential inter-relationships between adaptive monitoring and adaptive management to improve adoption of both; an understanding of what constitutes adaptive monitoring so that it is readily differentiated from ad hoc and reactive monitoring; and the forging of partnerships between researchers, policy-makers and resource managers to accommodate differences between policy-relevant and research-relevant questions and differences in conceptual models of ecosystem function, structure and management.